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Topic: I am trying to lay down a method for replacing frames with foundationless??? (Read 1808 times)

I apologize for dumping this many questions at one time. This is my third post in the last 5 minutes.... :roll: Too much down time at work last night..... :-P

Anyway, I am trying out foundationless frames. When I switch all of my other boxes over, from where in the brood box do I remove frames first? Should I wait for a frame in the middle to empty of brood, or start on the outside and work in? I thought I would do it one or two at a time, so that she is not left with nothing to lay in.

Another thought was maybe let them draw my supers out right now. Once they are drawn and extracted, just use those to get the brood box up to speed with natural drawn cell. Then next year I would just have to have them draw out the supers again.

Not sure what the safest/simplest/quickest process would be. I am sure that I am over-complicating it.

Thanks for any input...

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"Fear not the night. Fear that which walks the night. I am that which walks the night, BUT only EVIL need fear me..."-Lt. Col. David Grossman

I can just tell you what I have decided to do but I am also moving toward all med boxes.

Put on a medium box with foundationless and lest them draw it out. I wrote the number 1 on each of the frames so I know that brood from these frames will be the first generation from full sized foundation bees.

I will let them draw it out.. because I only have single deeps at this point I will let the brood box extend into the medium. Repeat untl there are two mediums... this is the most I can expect to get done by winter. So I will let them be for the winter.

Next spring I will see where the brood is. I will probably do some splits from the deep frames but their second box will also be mediums. Eventually I should have opportunity to retire the deep boxes 1 by 1. Then when/if I ever start and sell some nucs I will use the old deep frames.

Disclaimer: this is my first year keeping bees.. I have no idea what I am doing ;)

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“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” J.R.R. Tolkien

I would remove empty comb first. Then comb with honey. Then comb with pollen. I would NOT remove comb with brood. I would just move it to the outside as you go. Eventually it will either be full of honey, pollen or empty. Don't get in a hurry. Just take what they don't have brood in it. It may take you three years to swap out all the comb.

Michael, would there be any merit to rotating your existing "foundation cel" comb out of the brood chambers and up to your honey supers, and then eventually out?...so you give the bees an advantage in honey storage space during the flow and don't waste the drawn comb during the changeover period.

>Michael, would there be any merit to rotating your existing "foundation cel" comb out of the brood chambers and up to your honey supers, and then eventually out?...so you give the bees an advantage in honey storage space during the flow and don't waste the drawn comb during the changeover period.

I view the large cell comb as the enemy. It's the wrong size and it's contaminated with chemicals. Every chance I get I want it out. I also don't use an excluder so really there is no line between supers and brood. I don't want the queen to expand up into it and I'm again faced with how to get the brood finished and pull it out empty, if I can. I pull it whenever I find it empty.